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Jack Del Rio appointed Broncos coach while John Fox recovers

The Broncos have reached an agreement with Jack Del Rio to serve as their interim head coach until John Fox recovers from heart surgery, the team announced Monday morning.

Fox will undergo heart valve replacement surgery either Monday or Tuesday. It's another blow to a team that is 7-1 as it returns from its bye Monday with an 8:05 a.m. full-squad meeting and 10 a.m. practice.

At their meeting, the players were reintroduced to Del Rio as their interim head coach. He has been the Broncos' defensive coordinator since the start of the 2012 season and had previous NFL head coaching experience with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Broncos coach John Fox, left, and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, right, have been through many battles together, including at Carolina. (Joe Amon, Denver Post file)

"I think in a hard situation like this, you motivate yourself," said Broncos receiver Eric Decker. "What (coach Fox) meant to all of us in that building, there's going to be a lot of guys fired up to go about our business as professionals. We have good leadership among the coordinators and in the locker room as far as players. I'm not too concerned about the leap we have to make without him."

Del Rio was 68-71 from 2003-2011 in Jacksonville. Fired with five games left in 2011, Del Rio caught on quickly with Fox. In his first season in charge of the Broncos' defense, the Broncos ranked No. 2 in yards allowed and No. 4 in points allowed.

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Del Rio's defense struggled for most of the first-half of this season. With star pass rusher Von Miller suspended from the first six games and cornerback Champ Bailey sidelined with a foot injury for all but 1 ½ games, Denver ranked 24th in total defense and is tied for 25th in scoring defense.

However, the Broncos' defense had its best effort in its game before the bye, holding the Washington Redskins to 266 yards in total offense and coming up with three interceptions.